Volunteering in South Africa: Arrival Procedure in Cape Town

On arrival in South Africa, one of the first things you'll notice is the huge variety or races and nationalities - you won't stick out, neither will you blend in - welcome to the Rainbow Nation! You'll first go through the usual immigration procedures then, through the melee of people waiting with signs, you will see one of our members of staff holding a Projects Abroad sign.

After a short drive into town, you'll be taken to our Office in Cape Town to meet the staff, collect your welcome pack and have a brief induction before being taken to meet your hosts and sampling your first of many huge South African meals! Whatever project you do, all volunteers based in Cape Town live with host families, either in the heart of Cape Town itself, or in one of the smaller coastal communities on the outskirts.

Volunteering in South Africa: Orientation and Induction

After a well earned rest, you'll be collected the following morning to begin your full induction to South African culture, your work, and life in Cape Town. You'll be taken around the city on public transport, introduced to your placement supervisor, and have lunch with one of our staff to get to know them better, and to ask any more questions you might have about the Projects Abroad experience.

All your meals will be cooked by local South Africans - and as you can imagine from the Rainbow Nation, it's an eclectic mix of flavours and styles. From fresh 'mielies' to the classic Cape Malay curry dish "bobotie", you'll find plenty of variety here! South Africans love their food and if you chose to eat out, you'll be blown away by the selection of foods available - Indian, Portuguese, Mozambican, Western. you name it! And don't forget to wash it down with some world class wines from the local winelands.

Each month in South Africa we produce a volunteer newsletter which contains information on any local festivals and events, stories written by volunteers about their time in the country and pieces written by our local staff. If you sign up for South Africa we will also email you this newsletter in the months before you go out to start your placement.

Though South Africa is a huge country, transport is excellent so it is easy to get around and travel at the weekends or after your placement. There are frequent trains in and out of Cape Town, or you could choose one of the many budget airlines, or even the famous "bazbus" popular with backpackers for the last decade. Internet is readily available throughout the cape and is the cheapest and easiest way of staying in touch with friends and family back home.

Conservation & Environment in South Africa

If you're doing the Conservation project, your final destination will be Polokwane airport in the rural heartland of the Limpopo River basin. You'll be met off the plane by one of our members of staff, before making the the stunning three hour drive in the back of a land cruiser to our base camp in Legodimo, on the Botswana side of the Limpopo river border with South Africa. You'll settle in, meet the other volunteers, receive a full safety induction before relaxing by the fire and listening to the sounds of the African bush . The next day you’ll be up early to begin work before the heat of the day intensifies.

As you can imagine living inside a nature reserve, you'll be isolated from the outside world, with limited mobile phone signal and no internet, which many volunteers relish! For safety reasons, you won't be able to leave the base camp without one of our fully qualified staff members, but don't worry, you'll get the chance to go into town once a week to call home, help re-stock the fridge and get hold of anything you've been craving since the last trip! Then it's back to the camp for another home cooked meal with the other volunteers and Projects Abroad staff over the traditional open Braai (Pit BBQ).